State-sponsored terrorism undermining world peace

When political awakening across the Arab world in 2010, popularly known as the ‘Arab spring’, swept through several countries in North Africa and the Middle East, it was clear that people were uneasy with the old order and wanted change, in leadership and the way things were done in their countries. The social uprising and anti-government street protests and demonstrations brought regimes down in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya. The monarchies in the region too were shaken but weathered the storm.

Soon after, the consequences of the popular revolutions began to unravel. Old order wittingly reclaimed power in some countries under the guise of new order. Some fought back even after their leaders were killed by plunging their nations into full-blown civil war. National unity was thrown out as militias took over balkanised ethnic enclaves and battled with each other. Some monarchies rolled out goodies to their subjects while others used heavy-handed crackdown to silence dissent.